The Wicked
by irrevocablybroken
Summary: When the Chitauri attack Asgard, seeking revenge upon Loki, Thor takes his brother back to Earth, straight into the hands of a very displeased group of superheroes.
1. Chapter 1

_**Summary:**__ When the Chitauri attack Asgard, seeking revenge upon Loki, Thor takes his brother back to Earth, straight into the hands of a very displeased group of superheroes._

_A series of short drabbles featuring everyone's favorite god of mischief and his not-so-friendly neighbors. _

**[chapter 1]**

Evening was Tony Stark's favorite time of day. Once he had finished tinkering in his workshop (causing disastrous amounts of damage to the tower most of the time), spent a few hours getting scolded by Pepper about his responsibility to his company and turned down countless phone calls from a very angry man in an eye patch, it was Tony's time to settle down on the sofa with one… or five bottles of some sort of alcohol.

This particular October night he grabbed a bottle of an exceptionally expensive looking wine and walked over to one of his many living rooms, telling Jarvis to play some loud and annoying pop music. He plopped down on the couch and turned on his tv/computer/very multifunctional device and proceeded to look himself up online.

It wasn't too long before he started checking out Avengers fansites, and soon googling Tony Stark turned into googling Steve Rogers, which turned into googling Thor, which resulted in the discovery of an interesting phenomenon called 'Thorki'. Tony laughed out loud and popped the cork off yet another bottle. He quickly decided to read some fanfiction just for shits and giggles. After all, the billionaire had nothing better to do on a Friday night.

Halfway through an exceptionally vivid and descriptive one shot, Tony heard a distant crash. His now hazy mind dismissed it as just another car crash of some sort- not an uncommon occurrence on the streets of New York City. He continued scrolling down the story, nearly spitting a mouthful of whiskey all over the place when things got a tad out of hand.

"_Sir, it appears someone has entered the tower."_

Tony waved his hand at no one in particular.

"S'probably Pep back early," he slurred.

"_Sir, I've traced the location of the intruder. They're on the roof."_

"Shit," Tony mumbled, suddenly more alert.

He leaped off the couch, dropping his bottle in the process. His head spun from the sudden movement, the apartment blurring uncomfortably before his eyes. He rubbed his eyes and slapped himself in the face for good measure.

"Jarvis, get the suit ready. Y'know, just in case."

"_Already on it sir."_

Tony smirked, yet again marveling at his genius creation. Without Jarvis, he would have to make his own waffles and in all fairness, he wouldn't know which button on the machine to press if his life depended on it.

He scrambled over to the elevator, hitting the top floor button. Tony leaned against the wall, pressing his aching head to the cool metal surface. Maybe drinking so much this early in the evening wasn't the smartest idea. He chuckled to himself._ I'll just keep telling myself that._

What seemed like days later the elevator made a soft dinging noise and the doors smoothly slid open, revealing the dark night sky and two very disheveled and angry Norse gods.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Summary:**__ When the Chitauri attack Asgard, seeking revenge upon Loki, Thor takes his brother back to Earth, straight into the hands of a very displeased group of superheroes._

_A series of short drabbles featuring everyone's favorite god of mischief and his not-so-friendly neighbors._

**[chapter 2]**

Tony reeled back and blinked a few times in confusion before he was enveloped in a bone crushing bear hug by Thor. It was made obvious that what Tony thought he saw as a result of his extensive drinking was in fact quite real and quite painful at the moment.

"Geroff me," he mumbled, scarcely able to breathe.

The god took the hint and let him go. "Tony Stark, it is good to see you again."

The shorter man nodded at Thor, then glanced cautiously at the second visitor, who had been standing motionlessly and soundlessly, observing their interaction. Loki glared back defiantly, but still refused to speak.

Tony cleared his throat and looked back at Thor. "Uh, blondie, care to explain all this?"

Thor opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted. "Y'know what, why don't we do this inside. I don't think I wanna get thrown off a roof today," he added, shooting a look at Loki, who continued to do absolutely nothing.

The blond god nodded in agreement and turned to his brother, motioning him to follow Stark into the elevator. When Loki refused to budge, Thor walked over to him and Tony rolled his eyes, sensing an upcoming feud between the oh-so-loving brothers. He strolled over to the still waiting elevator and leaned against the wall, waiting for the Asgardians to come to an agreement.

Some time later, the gods finished their quarrel, which Thor had obviously won. Loki grudgingly followed his brother into the elevator.

"Living room, Jarvis," Tony said as the doors slid shut.

Stark eyed the two visitors warily, the tension between them was clear as day and he wondered what had happened back on Asgard to bring them both (especially Mr. Kneel before me) back down to Earth in such a hurry. No one said anything the entire journey down, so Tony got to thinking. The younger god looked darker and more depressed than usual, which only highlighted the countless wounds that littered his face and what was visible of his body. What worried Tony most was that he was so uncharacteristically silent. Just a few months back, the guy wouldn't shut up about his army and all that crap. As seconds passed in silence, Loki seemed to be getting more and more agitated about his situation.

As if on cue, the elevator dinged and the doors slid open, revealing the vast, open area of the newly repaired living room. Loki grimaced, the memories of his last… visit in the room not entirely pleasant. Stark led the gods to some sofas and motioned for them to sit. Thor obliged happily and seated himself comfortably.

"You guys want a drink? I know I want a drink," Tony remarked, heading over to his fully stocked bar.

"I would rather like one," Thor replied.

The billionaire looked at Loki, who turned away with a dissatisfied expression on his face.

Tony grabbed a bottle of scotch and filled two glasses, then made his way over to the sitting area and handed one to Thor. He then plopped down carelessly onto a sofa facing the two gods. He took a sip and then pointed at Loki.

"You gonna sit?"

The god made yet another face, but walked over and took a seat on the far corner of Thor's couch, who downed his glass in one gulp and placed it on the coffee table.

"Stark, we've returned here because Asgard is under attack."


	3. Chapter 3

_**Summary:**__ When the Chitauri attack Asgard, seeking revenge upon Loki, Thor takes his brother back to Earth, straight into the hands of a very displeased group of superheroes._

_A series of short drabbles featuring everyone's favorite god of mischief and his not-so-friendly neighbors._

**[chapter 3]**

"…_because Asgard is under attack."_

_Asgard? Under attack?_

Loki visibly stiffened.

Tony sat up straighter. The news wasn't what he'd been expecting. "So that's why you two look like shit," he concluded, taking another sip of his drink.

"It appears the Chitauri, the race that destroyed this city not too long of a while back, have not entirely perished. They've… attacked our realm in search of- of Loki. They believe he is at fault for failing to deliver the Tesseract to them. I desired to battle them, of course, but Mother thought it best if I took Loki to Midgard, away from his pursuers."

"A foolish idea," Loki interrupted, speaking audibly for the first time since Tony laid eyes on him. "It would have been much simpler to give them what they wanted and avoid this pointless battle."

Thor looked outraged, "Brother, how can you think th-"

"Save your mock pity, Thor, I've heard it all before," Loki spat, still refusing to make eye contact with the other god.

Tony sensed yet another argument in the making and quickly spoke up to avoid furniture from getting tossed around and out the windows.

"Yeah, great, Point Break, but what do you want me to do about all this?"

Thor's face fell slightly, "I was hoping you would allow us to take refuge here, in your home, until matters are sorted out in Asgard."

Tony let out a bark of laughter and abruptly stood, heading over to refill his drink.

"You, Thor, I could deal with. But I don't need real power here jacking up my place again. I just got it all fixed. And I tend to avoid getting thrown headfirst out windows, one hundred stories down onto busy New York streets, thanks very much."

He lifted a bottle pour some alcohol into his glass, but quickly put the latter away and took a swig straight from the bottle.

Thor stood up from his place in the couch and stormed over to Tony, his eyes glistening with what? Desperation?

"Stark, Loki can do you, or any of us, no harm. He does not have access to his magic."

"It's not like that can stop him from barging into my room at night and stabbing me when I'm sleeping."

"I will personally see to it that Loki causes no trouble. Please, Stark this would not last long. Asgard is sure to defeat the Chitauri and put them back in their place. Up until then, we have no other safe place to stay but in your tower."

Tony sighed in exasperation and ran a hand through his hair (he made a mental note it was high time to wash it) and drained the remaining contents of his bottle.

"Fine, whatever."

Thor's face lit up, but Tony put a hand up to stop his senseless words of gratitude before they started.

"But if Loki slits my throat when I'm sleeping, I'll murder you."


	4. Chapter 4

**_Summary:_**_ When the Chitauri attack Asgard, seeking revenge upon Loki, Thor takes his brother back to Earth, straight into the hands of a very displeased group of superheroes._

_A series of short drabbles featuring everyone's favorite god of mischief and his not-so-friendly neighbors._

**_A/N:_**_ Seeing as this is something along the lines of a drabble series, I won't post regularly. So bear with me, my friends, I'll try to post a chapter whenever I get ideas. Also, don't forget to review to keep me going :))_

**[chapter 4]**

Tony sat at the marble bar, sipping his coffee and absentmindedly flipping through one of Pepper's old fashion magazines. Why women felt compelled to buy such pointless press would never cease to amaze him.

He was snapped out of his reverie by a very disheveled Thor, who came barging out of the elevator, mumbling something about black magic and metal boxes. With some medieval greeting that Tony didn't even care about processing, Thor sat down beside the billionaire and poured himself whatever amount of coffee was left in the pot.

Having lived in Stark Tower for over a week now, Thor had quickly grown accustomed to Tony's rules, the main one being '_if you want something, I won't help you get it, don't even ask'_. Therefore, after numerous attempts at locating cream in Tony's abnormally huge refrigerator, Thor gave up and drank his coffee black.

"Stark, have you seen my brother leave his quarters since our arrival? He refuses to let me in no matter how politely I ask."

Tony closed the magazine and looked up at the god, who was making one of his _Loki just needs a big hug_ puppy dog faces.

"Nah… he's still a lonely hermit, from what I've seen. Maybe it's better that way. He can't really kill anyone from inside his room."

"Nevertheless, I am worried about him. He rarely keeps to himself for such long periods of time."

Tony was about to throw in some witty, off topic comment, when a new voice entered the conversation.

"The alternative option would be to spend time with you two. To be quite honest, I'd rather remain in my room for the entire duration of this visitation."

Upon hearing his brother's voice, Thor whirled around faster than humanly possible, knocking Tony's and his own mugs over straight onto the billionaire's lap. Tony yelped and jumped away, burned, sending the mugs crashing onto the ground.

Thor couldn't have cared less about his actions at the moment. Nearly falling off his chair, he lumbered towards where Loki was leaning against a wall, his dark figure contrasting harshly with Stark's white walls.

Loki expertly avoided being crushed by his overemotional older brother, moving to stand behind one of the couches. Thor seemed to get the message quicker than usual. Loki didn't want to be squished. He stopped in his tracks and turned Loki.

"Brother, how have you been faring? Is everything alright?"

Loki rolled his eyes as Thor asked an unholy amount of insignificant questions he wouldn't even bother answering.

"Thor, would you shut up?" he sighed, successfully quieting the other god. "I don't require anything other than a glass of water and preferably absolute silence on your part."

Thor's face fell. He was slightly taken aback by Loki's harsh response, not that he'd been expecting a warm hug and comforting words from his detached brother. He remained motionless as Loki walked over to the bar and poured himself the desired beverage.

The god's attention turned to a suddenly shirtless Tony, who stormed past Thor, slapping him in the shoulder with the soiled shirt for good measure. "Seriously, big guy, these stains will never come off. It's coffee! And this was brand new! Pepper's gonna skin me!" The billionaire angrily left the room, mumbling something along the lines of 'don't trash my house again'.

Thor averted his attention back to Loki, who was heading towards the exit as well. Knowing better than to approach and further irritate his brother, Thor stood his ground.

"Loki?"

Loki sighed and lazily turned to face the blond god. "Yes, Thor?"

Thor offered a small smile. "If you need anything, brother, do not hesitate to ask me."

Loki stared at his brother carefully for a few moments, his face devoid of any emotion, before turning on his heel and exiting the living room without a reply.


	5. Chapter 5

**_Summary:_**_ When the Chitauri attack Asgard, seeking revenge upon Loki, Thor takes his brother back to Earth, straight into the hands of a very displeased group of superheroes._

_A series of short drabbles featuring everyone's favorite god of mischief and his not-so-friendly neighbors._

**_A/N:_**_ I'm doing a Loki POV chapter here. Might be shorter than the previous, but I wanted to show a little of what's going through Loki's head all this time._

**[chapter 5]**

After slamming his bedroom door roughly to make sure Thor understood he did not wish to be bothered, Loki placed his glass on the bedside table and sat down on the bed. Thor had this ridiculous obsession with taking care of his little brother.

_"He's not my brother_," Loki snarled to no one in particular.

He wasn't his brother. And he most certainly didn't need his help _or_ his pity. The same pity that drove Thor to abandon his people when the Chitauri attacked and run down into the underground prisons of Asgard in an attempt to release Loki, who had already been long gone by then. The pity he saw in his mother's eyes when she urged him and Thor to flee to Midgard. Their behavior might have been endearing in the eyes of another, but Loki most certainly didn't feel comfortable having people decide what was best for him. He was used to solitude; countless hours of reading, studying and practicing magic on his own had caused him to lead a reclusive life, away from all the cheering and celebration that was only ever reserved for Thor, the beloved golden prince of Asgard.

Loki laid his head down on the pillow, closing his eyes and sighing in exasperation.

As much as he wanted to let go of any attachments he might have had to his so-called family, there was always an annoying feeling tugging at him from somewhere deep down. A part of him wanted everything to go back to the way it was, to the life they had lived before he fell into the abyss. Loki quickly pushed the surfacing emotions down. He always pushed them down. He always concealed them with sarcasm and arrogance. After all, if he let anyone see what he was feeling, that he was feeling anything at all, he would have to put up with their mocking words, or in Thor's case, more false pity.

Loki knew what he was. A monster, nothing else.

Ever since he had found out about his true parentage, he put all his efforts into showing he wasn't like them, that he was different. An exception.

But everything he did proved him wrong.

Wherever he went there was chaos, panic and destruction. So he gave into the darkness. He caused others pain to smother out the pain he was always feeling. Even if it was subconscious.

But only he knew that.

Everyone else saw a cruel madman.

Maybe it was for the best. Maybe it was best if he was protected by the lie he had worked so long and so hard to create.


	6. Chapter 6

**_Summary:_**_ When the Chitauri attack Asgard, seeking revenge upon Loki, Thor takes his brother back to Earth, straight into the hands of a very displeased group of superheroes._

_A series of short drabbles featuring everyone's favorite god of mischief and his not-so-friendly neighbors._

**_A/N:_**_ Oh gosh, I wasn't expecting so much feedback! Thank you sososososo much for taking the time to fave and review :)_

**[chapter 6]**

"Loki _what_?!" Clint yelled, his eyes widening comically as he dropped the drink he was holding.

Tony cringed as the glass shattered. He should have found a better way to break the news to the rest of the team. Especially Clint, who was still bent on shooting a certain god of mischief full of arrows. Then again, there was no easy way to tell the Avengers that the crazy psychopath who had tried to level Manhattan not too long ago was currently residing in Stark Tower, doing… whatever.

"Where is that bastard?" Clint snapped, turning to face Stark, a mix of anger and… some sort of half-drunken rage visible on his face. "I'll give him a piece of my mind…"

Natasha, who had been sitting quietly for the duration of Clint's outburst, cleared her throat, effectively shutting the archer up and averting his attention to her.

"Why don't you sit back down and let Stark explain himself," she said sternly, her cold gaze fixing on Tony, who visibly stiffened. All things considered, Natasha still possessed the uncanny ability to scare the crap out of him.

The billionaire downed his drink quickly, then placed the glass down on the bar.

"Well… Thor came crashing down one evening and, well, you see, brought a souvenir from Asgard. Uh, and Asgard's under attack or something…"

"And you let him move in? Just like that?"

Tony smirked uncomfortably. "Hey, Thor's always welcome, I thought you knew th-"

"Stark," Natasha interrupted, "do you really trust Loki to live under your roof? For all you know he could be plotting something again."

Clint spoke up again. "Honestly, we should just get rid of him." He lifted his free hand and made a swiping gesture across his throat, "if you catch my drift."

The redhead rolled her eyes.

"Hey, he hasn't been up to any trouble, guys. He keeps to himself most of the time, doesn't bother anyone…." Tony trailed off suddenly, his gaze focusing on the doorway.

The assassins turned to where Stark was staring, to see Loki standing by the door, his expression unreadable, if not laced with a touch of discomfort.

"I take it this is a bad time," he muttered, breaking the silence.

Despite the traces of anxiety in his eyes, Tony could just make out a shadow of a smirk on Loki's lips. He chuckled to himself. Something told him Loki's visit was not completely accidental and that he probably crawled out of his hermit hole to see the priceless expression on Clint's face.

Said archer, having broken out of his shock, stood up abruptly, knocking over his bar stool. He moved towards Loki, but Natasha grabbed his hand firmly and pulled him back before he had a chance to smash the god's skull in.

Loki raised his hands in mock surrender, the smirk growing more visible on his face.

"What do you want?" Natasha demanded, slowly relinquishing her grip on Clint's wrist.

The god merely shrugged, his features relaxing slightly. "I heard some new voices, couldn't wait to see all of you again," he deadpanned.

"Yeah, well you better get back to wherever the hell you came from or so help me…" Clint threatened, once again attempting to approach Loki.

"Tough crowd…" Loki sighed dramatically. "I'll be on my way, then, as you wish. Give me a head start, would you?" he added, flashing a sarcastic smile at the archer.

"Yeah, right. What's a sorcerer need a head start for?"

Loki suddenly froze and looked up, his cold glare focusing on Clint, who stopped in his tracks. He could have sworn the temperature in the room dropped a couple degrees.

The god inhaled sharply, clenching his fists at his sides. "Perhaps when said sorcerer isn't a sorcerer anymore," he snapped, his green eyes never leaving Clint's.

With that, he turned on his heel and left the room without another word.

**_A/N:_**_ Thanks for reading! Feel free to drop a comment about what you thought & what you would like to see in future chapters :)_


	7. Chapter 7

**_Summary:_**_ When the Chitauri attack Asgard, seeking revenge upon Loki, Thor takes his brother back to Earth, straight into the hands of a very displeased group of superheroes._

_A series of short drabbles featuring everyone's favorite god of mischief and his not-so-friendly neighbors._

**_A/N:_**_ Look how fast that update was. I deserve cookies. Some more Loki for y'all~_

**[chapter 7]**

Following Loki's outburst, Clint remained uncharacteristically silent, refraining from snarky comebacks and sarcastic comments for the remainder of the evening.

Once he and Natasha left ("To Natasha's apartment, at night, all alone", Tony supplied, winking knowingly at Clint) the billionaire settled down on his favorite couch, with his favorite bottle of wine. With Pepper away at some sort of press conference for Stark Industries (which Tony really should have cared about, but, obviously didn't) there was no one to tell him to sober up and stop drinking his life away for no justified reason. As much as Tony loved the perky woman, she was quite a handful sometimes and her responsible, no-shit attitude was often too much for him to bear. That's where the alcohol came in. Having drunk Pepper's reprimands away at night, Tony was ready to start the next day with a clear conscience (and usually a bad hangover).

It was a while before Stark noticed a dark figure standing quietly at the end of the room. He squeezed his eyes shut and blinked, forcing his tired eyes to focus on Loki, who was watching him with a thoughtful expression.

"Whaddya want?" Tony mumbled, not in the mood to put up with Loki's… whatever Loki wanted.

"I thought I made that clear earlier, Stark. I mean no offense to your interior decorating skills, but my quarters are getting quite dull."

"Hey, look, no one's forcing you to stay in there."

Loki grimaced. "You saw, yourself, how they all reacted back there. Not that I was expecting anything more, of course."

_And here we go with the self-esteem issues_, Tony thought miserably.

"Don't sweat it, Lokes, sit down, have a drink."

Loki raised an eyebrow at the nickname and begrudgingly sat down opposite Tony on a sofa and hesitantly accepted a glass of whatever alcohol Stark had offered him, which got said billionaire thinking. Either Loki was hatching some mastermind plan of bringing Manhattan (then the rest of the world) to its knees, or the antisocial god was actually attempting to be… social. As far as Tony knew, Loki was an incredibly gifted liar, but the uncharacteristically timid movements seemed natural enough for Tony's not entirely sober self. Maybe it was just the fact that Thor was away, visiting Jane at work somewhere in Seattle that coaxed Loki out of his hole. From what he'd gathered during the past days, Loki tended to avoid Thor. Or simply not acknowledge his existence whatsoever.

A few minutes passed in awkward silence before Stark spoke up, clearing his throat and addressing the dark haired god. "Uh, you want some books, maybe? You said it gets boring and all…" he trailed off at the sight of Loki's genuinely surprised expression.

"Hey, if you're willing to be civil, so am I," Tony concluded, clumsily picking himself up from the couch. He gestured for Loki to follow him, which he did, slowly and unsurely at first.

The billionaire took him a few floors down, to where the grand library was located. Tony took pride in his vast collection of books, never actually having read most of them.

Loki immediately took off down one of the aisles, disappearing from Tony's sight.

Tony woke up a few minutes later.

Wait, what?

Without realizing it, he'd apparently dozed off on one of the stiff wooden chairs. He yawned and stood up shakily, looking around for Loki. He heard some distant shuffling and called out to nowhere in particular.

"I'm gonna head upstairs, Lokes. You'll find your way up, right? Ask Jarvis or whatever…"

Tony slumped into the elevator without waiting for a response.

Had he actually spent an hour with the guy who'd thrown him out a window not too long ago? Yeah, it was definitely bedtime.

**_A/N_**_: (I didn't proofread this chapter, so feel free to tell me if you see any mistakes!) & Let me know what you thought and what you would like to see in future chapters :)_


	8. Chapter 8

**_Summary:_**_ When the Chitauri attack Asgard, seeking revenge upon Loki, Thor takes his brother back to Earth, straight into the hands of a very displeased group of superheroes._

_A series of short drabbles featuring everyone's favorite god of mischief and his not-so-friendly neighbors._

**_A/N:_**_ Sorry for the long wait…. First and foremost, all the shows are coming back, so I'll definitely be wasting plenty of hours there. On top of that, school's a bitch. On with the story:_

**[chapter 8]**

Loki had locked himself away in his room again. Not that Tony was surprised, of course. Having lugged god knows how many books inside, Loki was probably never going to leave again. On one hand, the billionaire was pretty darn lonely. With Thor gone and Pepper away at some business conference, he had no one but his artificial intelligence to keep him company. It wasn't exactly an uplifting thought.

Of course, Steve dropped by every now and then to make sure Tony hadn't drunk himself to death or left the microwave on and dozed off someplace. The super soldier didn't exactly have anything else to do, other than wander aimlessly around New York City and spend hours trying to figure out how to work Google.

_"Sir, Mr. Rogers is waiting in the living room."_

Tony jerked his head away from whatever it was resting on, only to have stars dance before his eyes. He blinked a few times and took in his surroundings.

Workshop floor, using a wrench as a pillow. _Not bad, Tony._

"I'll be right up. Make some coffee, would you?"

_"Already done, sir."_

Tony smirked and wiped his face with the corner of his t-shirt, then trotted over to the waiting elevator. Maybe it was time to start taking the stairs… or working out in any way whatsoever… or taking a shower, for that matter.

He arrived on the main floor, somehow managing to startle Steve. The man jumped around, nearly knocking the coffee machine clean off the counter.

"Uh, hey, Tony," he muttered, trying and failing to cover up his little accident.

"What do you want, Rogers? It's like…" Tony trailed off, fishing his phone out of his pocket. "Ten thirty, man, why would you wake me up at this ungodly hour?"

Steve raised an impatient eyebrow, clearly having grown tired of Tony's snarky remarks over the past few months. He drank the last of his coffee and put the mug down, then approached Stark with a dangerous looking glint in his eyes.

"When exactly were you planning on telling me?" Steve demanded, stopping a few feet away from the shorter man, who instinctively backed away.

"Telling you what, exactly?"

"Stark, I've been here three times this week and you may have failed to mention you have a guest."

Tony cringed. He distinctly remembered having forgotten to tell Steve about Loki.

"Right…" he began. "Wait, how do _you_ know?"

"I ran into Barton yesterday. He used some very colorful words."

"Yeah, so Barton told you everything, great. Why bother coming down here and bothering me?"

"Yeah, because you're obviously very busy," Steve retorted. "I wanted to hear your side of the story, Stark. Or even his."

"Thor and Loki left Asgard, came here and that's literally all there is to know. Loki holed himself up in a spare bedroom and he hasn't left in two days. Also, before you go and kill Loki, I should mention Thor said he'd end me if a single hair fell from Loki's head. So please do keep that in mind."

Steve's expression softened.

"I wasn't going to do anything. Maybe talk to him, is all. Natasha said he'd changed."

"Well, he hasn't possessed anyone or thrown anything out a window yet, so that's an improvement."

"Stark, this isn't a joke. Something had to happen in Asgard. Or wherever."

"Or maybe he's just tired of throwing world scale hissy fits," Tony deadpanned, brushing past Steve to get some coffee.

"Have you talked to him?"

"Loki isn't really one for talking. Let alone about his feelings."

"Have you asked Thor?" Steve pressed.

"Steve, I thought I made it clear the idea of psychological damage hadn't crossed my mind. Blondie will be back tomorrow, come back and bother him then."

The super soldier stared at Tony for a moment before leaving the room in silence.


	9. Chapter 9

**_Summary:_**_ When the Chitauri attack Asgard, seeking revenge upon Loki, Thor takes his brother back to Earth, straight into the hands of a very displeased group of superheroes._

_A series of short drabbles featuring everyone's favorite god of mischief and his not-so-friendly neighbors._

**_A/N:_**_ This is the longest chapter yet. Also, who thought it was a good idea to reveal like 10 new Thor 2 clips in a week? Like, do you _want_ me to die? (I don't think I'll make it through that movie in one piece ;_;)_

**[chapter 9]**

In a matter of days, Loki had begun to emerge from his room somewhat regularly, cleverly avoiding days when the other Avengers popped in for visits. It was obvious he and Barton hated each other's guts- no need for sugarcoating there- the feeling was mutual and both parties thought it best to steer clear of the other. Natasha, on the other hand, couldn't care less about Loki's sudden personality shift. As long as no blood was shed and New York remained standing, it wasn't her problem.

The most awkward relationship, however, had blossomed between Loki and a certain super soldier from the forties.

Ever since Steve had taken Tony up on his offer to confront the resident god personally, Loki started to spend more time out of his bedroom and in the many other areas the Tower had to offer.

Tony had insisted it was because he was finally warming up to state of the art Stark Industries technology. And that was all Tony had to say before he got inside his Porsche and drove off to some wild bourgeoisie party.

Steve knew Loki was just glad to have someone on his side, even if he kept it well concealed under his calm and collected façade. After all, he had made small talk with the god numerous times. The topics they covered were random and completely irrelevant, but Steve made sure to get his point across. He held no grudges against the Asgardian. And though Loki tried to hide it, he was actually thankful to have someone other than his oaf of a brother to vouch for him.

xxx

The soldier rolled his eyes as the garage door rolled shut, then turned on his heel and summoned the elevator. He glanced at his watch and began counting down the time until Tony's antics were broadcasted on national TV. Last time, it had only taken two and a half hours or so for Stark to get completely wasted and drive a Lamborghini of unknown origin into Hugh Hefner's rooftop pool. There was no doubt the billionaire wouldn't last the night without pulling something that would get him arrested. Not that Stark couldn't pay bail in under a minute but still, being the well-mannered good boy he was, Steve couldn't help but feel bucketloads of second hand embarrassment for his friend.

Upon walking into the living room, the last thing Steve expected to see was Loki curled up on the sofa, watching the news with a nearly empty bottle of vodka of all things.

The soldier involuntarily snickered at the sight, causing Loki to jump. He sat up and turned the TV off in one fluid motion, somehow managing to simultaneously place the bottle on the table without spilling a single drop.

Steve held his hands up in surrender.

"I'm sorry for startling you. It's just, you know, not an everyday sight."

Loki watched carefully as Steve walked closer and sat down across from him. The latter glanced at the vodka bottle on the table, then back up at the god.

"Drinking away troubles?"

Loki lifted an eyebrow and chuckled, despite his obviously unpleasant mood. "Midgardian alcohol is just as strong as water, thank you. I believe I could down Stark's entire supply and hardly begin to feel any effects."

Steve nodded his head in silent agreement.

Loki eyed the other man curiously before picking up the vodka and finishing whatever was left. He put the bottle down and proceeded to stare at the blank television screen, clearly in no mood to talk. Steve decided to go ahead and break the uncomfortable silence.

"Any word from Asgard?"

The soldier just managed to catch the slight shift in Loki's demeanor before the god returned to his ever present poker face. _Note to self, Asgard = very touchy subject._

"I have no means of contact with other realms at the moment. Other than my b- …Thor, but you yourself see how interested he is in the fact that there's a war raging."

Steve understood Loki's point completely. Thor had been gone for over a week now, having gone to visit Jane. However, strange as it seemed to everyone, neither he nor the scientist had tried to contact them. They were probably too busy- Steve stopped himself before he went down a very Tony-esque train of thought. Who was he to be judging how Thor spent his free time?

"… And no one's tried to contact you? Like your mother or…."

Loki's eyes snapped up to meet Steve's. The soldier could tell he hit a nerve. _Loki's mother- even touchier subject._

"As much as I appreciate your concern, Rogers, I think it best you leave now," Loki said coolly, a shadow of barely restrained emotion flickering across his features.

Steve nodded after a moment, then picked himself up from the sofa and turned to leave.

Halfway across the room, he stopped and turned to look at the god, who hadn't moved a single muscle.

"You don't have to keep it bottled up, you know," Steve said, hoping to break through the walls Loki had so carefully constructed around himself.

As could be expected, the latter made no attempt to reply.

"Goodnight, Loki."

_A/N: I didn't proofread this, so that's my explanation for any typos or drastic grammatical problems. It's 2am and I just really wanted to get this chapter up. Review, please!_


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